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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Classical simulation of relativistic Zitterbewegung in photonic lattices
Felix Dreisow1, Matthias Heinrich, Robert Keil
1Institute of Applied Physics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
We present the first experimental realization of an optical analog for relativistic quantum mechanics by simulating the Zitterbewegung (trembling motion) of a free Dirac electron in an optical superlattice. Our photonic setting enables a direct visualization of Zitterbewegung as a spatial oscillatory motion of an optical beam. Direct measurements of the wave packet expectation values in superlattices with tuned miniband gaps clearly show the transition from weak-relativistic to relativistic and far-relativistic regimes.
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